Rethinking the ‘Average-Vulnerable’ Dichotomy: The Case for Emphasizing Elderly Vulnerability in the UCPD

The European population is ageing, and this demographic shift presents significant challenges for private law. Current legal frameworks lack elderly-specific protections, limiting the ability to effectively safeguard older individuals. Although scholarly interest in ageing is growing, the legal concept of vulnerability in EU consumer law still does not adequately recognize the elderly as a distinctively vulnerable group. Marketing and behavioral research – including recent EU-level reports – have identified older consumers as exhibiting a unique set of vulnerabilities. Building on this evidence, the article proposes alternative legal approaches that move beyond the current reluc- tance to treat the elderly as a specifically protected category. The article concludes that extending greater legal protection to elderly individuals would mark a crucial step toward a more inclusive society – especially in the face of rapid demographic change.